THE DAILY FLOSS BLOG OFFERS A GLANCE AT WHAT'S NEW ON THE DENTAL SCENE: EQUIPMENT, EVENTS, DENTISTS, HUMOR, LIFESTYLE.

Friday To Do list: #1. Schedule afternoon with an inspirational mentor.

On a regular basis, Robyn Benincasa inspires people to live beyond expectations. In some instances, this leads to climbing Mount Kilimanjaro or creating an adventure racing team, in others, starting an independent business.

Next Friday, April 28, Benincasa, a CNN Hero, three-time Guinness World Record Distance Paddler and Founder of Project Athena Foundation (Survivors to Athletes!) will share her energy as keynote speaker at a reunion of 31 pioneers of their profession and a celebration for several hundred women in dentistry.

Benco Dental will host The Lucy Hobbs Project 5th Annual Celebration on April 27 and 28, 2017 at Loews Hotel, 1200 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During the gathering, The Project will honor six women selected as award recipients for setting new benchmarks in the dental profession.

“I find it really inspiring. Everyone in the room [at events where I speak] is lucky enough to have been born at a time when there is, in essence, equal opportunity if you have the drive and the desire, and work hard. But the endurance it took [for Lucy Hobbs] to bust the system, to be that breakthrough–she saw what she wanted to do and wasn’t willing to accept anything else. That’s a great example for all of us,” said Benincasa, referencing the Project’s namesake and the first woman to earn a degree in dentistry.

“We should honor these people who, against all odds, said ‘I’m gonna do this, I’m gonna break this barrier.’ It is neat to be in a business environment where it doesn’t matter what your gender is; it matters what your skills are and what your drive is.”

Benincasa offers insight on women in business and the leadership styles: “Women at the top levels of any industry aren’t trying to be men. They’re trying to use their core strengths and talents and competencies to succeed,” she said.

“The road might be different, but the finish line is the same. Be the leader that your team needs in the moment. Women tend to move toward the affiliative leadership style–lead by friendship, lead by coaching. It’s more effective than people who run a pacesetting or coercive style. A lot of leaders fall into those traps.”

The Lucy Hobbs Project, with a network of more than 9,000 members, empowers women in dentistry to drive change and deliver success through networking, innovation and giving back. Named for Dr. Hobbs, the woman who, in 1866, became the first American female to earn a degree in dentistry, this project aims to bring women together from all facets of the dental industry – dentists, dental assistants, hygienists, receptionists, sales representatives and others. Free to join, it offers networking opportunities, educational programs and charitable events.

Each year The Lucy Hobbs Project collaborates with a national partner to give back, and for 2017, will help Cradles to Crayons, which provides children from birth through age 12, living in homeless or low-income situations, with the essential items they need to thrive. At the 5th annual Lucy Hobbs Project Celebration, Cradles to Crayons will collect back-to-school supplies to be donated to over 30,000 students this summer. In lieu of a fee for the celebration, attendees are asked to donate items, such as new backpacks, new school supplies, notebooks or composition books and construction paper, crayons (24-pack), colored pencils (12-pack), pencils and pencil cases, pencil sharpeners and erasers, blue or black pens, pocket folders, glue sticks, rulers and scissors.

To learn more about previous winners of The Lucy Hobbs Project® Award, or to sign up for The Lucy Hobbs Project®, visit: www.thelucyhobbsproject.com

Benco Dental, headquartered in Northeastern Pennsylvania, is the largest privately-owned dental distributor in the United States, offering a full array of supplies, equipment and services to dentists across the nation. Founded in 1930 by Benjamin Cohen, the company has remained family-owned and focused on its unique mission to “deliver success, smile after smile.”

Within the past 86 years, the company has grown from a single downtown location to a national network of more than 65 regional locations, five distribution centers, and three design showrooms. Those design showrooms, one at the company’s Pa. headquarters, one in Southern California, and one in Texas, feature North America’s largest selection of dental equipment and technology, as well as a hands-on dental design experience, to assist dentists in the planning and construction of a new office.

Benco, which has been named one of the top 30 Great Places to Work® in Health Care for the past two consecutive years, and Pennsylvania’s Best Places to Work® for 12 of the past 14 years, is proud to feature a highly skilled team of more than 400 professionally trained sales representatives and over 300 factory-trained service technicians. For more information, visit benco.com or call 1.800.GO.BENCO.